Working in lab groups, students figure out morphological classification using 3 species of Hyposmocoma caterpillars.
When a group is finished, teachers add a 4th, then 5th species to fit into their classification. Extra species from HyposmocomaSpecies.doc
Finally define the following using examples:
Students act as Hyposmocoma moths to play a mating game and learn the key role of isolation when making new species.
Then define the following terms with examples:
Standards
Domain II, Strand 2: Unity and Diversity
Domain II, Strand 2: Biological Evolution
Crawling Hyposmocoma video
Hypothesizing Hyposmocoma
- tiny caterpillars
- make cocoon early and drag it around for protection
- endemic Hawaiian genus
- 400+ different species
- grow up into micro-moths
- most eat lichens or algae, but some eat dead wood, rotting leaves, snails, other caterpillars
Show video of a crawling Hyposmocoma (Quicktime movie is 146Mb, download it early)Alternate video of a crawling Hyposmocoma from YouTube
Students then invent a new Hyposmocoma species that evolved in a given environment (Hypothesizing Hyposmocoma)
Classification
Classification vocabulary
When a group is finished, teachers add a 4th, then 5th species to fit into their classification. Extra species from HyposmocomaSpecies.doc
Finally define the following using examples:
Constructing Cladograms
- make a table of characteristics
- draw a venn diagram
- translate into a cladogram
Work in lab groups.Molecular Phylogenetics
Discuss the Hyposmocoma cladogram (from Haines et.al., Nature 2014).
Then lab groups work together on Molecular Phylogenetics.
The Speciation Game
Speciation vocabulary
Then define the following terms with examples:
Read The Hawaiian amphibious caterpillar guild: new species of Hyposmocoma confirm distinct aquatic invasions and complex speciation patterns
Then discuss the Hyposmocoma cladogram from Haines et.al., Nature 2014
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Materials and Methods: Sampling and rearing, Molecular and phylogenetic analyses
- Systematics of H. kahamanoa: etymology, biology, distribution, remarks
- Materials and Methods: Experimental observations + Discussion: Underwater breathing strategy
- Discussion: Complex speciation and endemism patterns
Then discuss the Hyposmocoma cladogram (from Haines et.al., Nature 2014). Point out: